Fertility rate in decline – report
However, parenthood can be achieved via a number of options
INCREASING infertility levels continue to ruin the dreams of people planning to start families.
A report published by the UN noted the average fertility rate in the country was declining. It reported that fertility rates in 2020 were projected at an average of 2.3 children per woman, slightly lower than the global average of about 2.5.
Comparatively, between this year and 2017 there was a 2.8% drop in fertility levels.
Saskia Williams, who founded the Infertility Awareness Association of South Africa (Ifaasa) after going through a six-year ordeal trying to achieve motherhood, was all too familiar with the struggle to conceive.
Williams was 27 when she visited her doctor to find out why she was unable to fall pregnant after six months of trying with her husband David.
“We were worried and didn’t know what to do. I was told to return after two more years of trying, but that was not an option. I saw another doctor who referred me to a fertility clinic and we got the crushing news.”
Williams said they were clueless on what to do after an infertility diagnosis, but learnt about in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a process of fertilisation where a combination of medicines and surgical procedures help sperm fertilise an egg. The fertilised egg is then implanted into the uterus.
The couple underwent their first attempt in 2007, then in 2009 and in 2012. “We were naive and expected it to work perfectly on the first go. After all, we were young and healthy, so why wouldn’t it? Only after it failed miserably, did the reality really sink in.”
The couple invested money for additional attempts without the guarantee it would work. Williams said they looked into adoption and started the process before their third IVF attempt, which was successful.
“We were ecstatic but it was shortlived because we lost our daughter at 24 weeks due to chromosomal abnormalities. That was when we stopped treatments. It had become too much. So we followed through with our adoption plans. We were on the list for 13 months. We adopted our son in December 2012, now he is 7.”
Williams said they were lucky the diagnosis didn’t strain their marriage, but knew of others who could not say the same.
“Some get divorced and relationships with friends and family get strained. But Ifaasa is here to help people. We try to help couples understand that the world is not over.”
Williams said the stigma attached to infertility needed to be broken.
“You get treated like a pariah because people cannot understand what being childless in a world full of children was like. You are petrified to be faced with everyone else’s fertility and can become a recluse. You don’t attend baby showers and you don’t get told of family or friends pregnancies as they can’t face telling you, so you find out via social media, which is worse.”
Plenty of couples who go through infertility seldom realise their dreams of becoming parents. “Do not ask a couple who has been together for a while when they will have kids. Don’t ask single-child families when they will have another child, and don’t ask a childless person if they would like to have your kids. It’s not funny, it is hurtful,” said Williams.
Jack Biko from Femicare Fertility Clinic, a gynaecologist and reproductive medicine specialist, said infertility has a significant impact on a couples psychological, physical, social and financial well-being.
“Plus the stigma attached to childlessness, with women carrying the burden remains. It is traditionally seen as a woman’s problem, but the reality is that 40% of infertility was due to male factors,” he said.
Biko said female infertility included ovulation disorders, uterine or cervical abnormalities, fallopian tube damage or blockage, endometriosis, early menopause, certain cancers and their treatment. Infertility in men included increasing age, obesity, smoking, radiation, taking supplements and steroids, a high testicular temperature, infections and genital injuries.
He said IVF treatment cost about R40 000 in the state sector but ranged between R60 000 and R130 000 in the private sector. He suggested couples should consult a specialist if they were unable to conceive after having regular unprotected sex for a year, or if a woman is unable to carry a baby to full-term.
“Infertility may often be successfully treated and couples struggling to fall pregnant should always contact a specialist for assistance.”